How Deepak Mankar managed to stay in hospital despite discharge

Rao Nursing Home doctors issued a release letter on Tuesday evening asking the cops to move the NCP leader but doctors were nowhere to be found to remove his IV; on Wednesday they issued another letter stating they would like to keep him till November 10.

Former deputy mayor Deepak Mankar still manages to pack a few punches. Booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), and several other offences, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader managed to stay put in hospital even after doctors at Rao Nursing Home had issued a discharge letter. In the drama that lasted 24 hours, and consumed much manpower of the police force, the leader known for his land dealings, got a fresh letter issued which stated that he would be under observation for three more days till November 10.

Mankar was booked for abetting suicide of a cop’s brother. When his attempts at getting bail from Pune sessions court, Bombay High Court and Supreme Court of India failed, he surrendered on August 2. The Pune cops slapped MCOCA against the leader on the day he surrendered, in a bid to keep him behind bars. Cops cited several criminal cases against him while slapping the stringent provisions of running an organised gang. Ever since, three FIRs of cheating, forgery and intimidation have been registered against the NCP leader.

A day after he was arrested, he complained of chest pain and was admitted to Sassoon General Hospital (SGH). Ever since, he has been making frequent trips between Yerwada jail and hospitals. In October, Mankar’s lawyers sought permission from court to get him treated for his ailments at a private hospital and not at SGH. Once the permission was granted by a Pune court, he was moved to Rao Nursing Home, on Satara Road, in the second week of October. A week after his admission, he underwent a surgery and was kept for postoperative care.

A team of cops from Pune headquarters have been at Rao Nursing Home since Tuesday to take Deepak Mankar back to Yerwada jail.

On November 6, the medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Harish Sakhre, issued a discharge letter and alerted Yerwada Central Jail authorities as well as Pune police, who is responsible for escorting him, to take him away. The letter, signed at 4.52 pm, discharged the leader who has been occupying a twin air-conditioned suite that has an attached lounge and dining area for relatives on the fifth floor of the 123-bed hospital.

Once Pune police learnt about it, a team from headquarters was dispatched in a van to escort Mankar from the hospital to Yerwada jail. But once the team arrived at the nursing home by 8 pm, they were in for a rude shock.

Sources revealed that Mankar had a drip line attached to his arm. While doctors who had signed on his discharge letter were nowhere to be found, other doctors on duty refused to touch the high profile prisoner and remove his drip line. Mankar on his part too, sources revealed, refused to budge as he hadn’t been informed about his discharge. Moreover, he complained of uneasiness.

For the next several hours, police team and hospital staff haggled to get the prisoner back to where he belonged. It was only around 2.30 am that the cops gave up on their mission and returned to base. Before turning back, they alerted their superiors and police control room.

On November 7, a bigger police team was sent to take the accused out of the hospital. Cops from Bharati Vidyapeeth police station too were called in case the need arose. The previous day’s standoff between doctors, Mankar and police, continued. Sources revealed that Mankar stuck to his guns, on duty doctors at Rao Nursing Home said only the patient’s treating doctors could get rid of the drip, while the cops insisted on executing the previous day’s discharge letter.

The former dy mayor surrendered on August 2

A few minutes past 4 pm, doctors at the hospital announced that they would like to keep Mankar till November 10 as he was suffering from abdominal pain. Once the escorting team got a fresh letter, they left, leaving behind a few guards to keep an eye on the prisoner.

When Mirror contacted UT Pawar, superintendent of Yerwada jail, he said, “Once the doctors have given a discharge letter, it is the duty of Pune police to bring the prisoner back to the jail.” He said that his officers had been informed about Mankar’s discharge but were yet to see him back in prison.

Additional CP (south) Ravindra Sengaonkar said, “We had sent policemen for the security and they are there at the hospital. Our role is to provide him security, which we do till he is admitted in the hospital. As for his discharge or his admission in jail, it is for the prison department and the hospital to look into the matter.”

While the prison officials and Pune police were busy playing the blame game, officials at Rao Nursing Home refused to respond to Mirror’s queries. Their administration said that all their senior doctors were away.

Advoacte Pushkar Durge, who is representing Mankar, said, “Three days ago, the hospital had sent a letter to the jail administration asking them to get Deepak Mankar medically examined (by a government doctor). The jail administration, however, did not revert. Last night, police came to the hospital to take him to jail, but my client was in no condition to move. Moreover, nobody had informed about the discharge. The police team who had gone to the hospital to take him, informed the control room that there were no doctors in the hospital to formally discharge my client. He had an IV in his hand and was unable to go out of the hospital. Now, the doctors at Rao hospital have said that his health is unstable and that he needs further treatment. The hospital administration has said that if the police have any queries about his health, they should send a government doctor for check-up.”

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